HUMBLING

demeaning, humbling, humiliating, mortifying

(adjective) causing awareness of your shortcomings; “golf is a humbling game”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Verb

humbling

present participle of humble

Noun

humbling (plural humblings)

An event which causes humbleness; a set-down.

Adjective

humbling (comparative more humbling, superlative most humbling)

Of higher rank, status, quality, strength, etc.; inducing a feeling of inferiority.

Source: Wiktionary


HUMBLE

Hum"ble, a. [Compar. Humbler; superl. Humblest.] Etym: [F., fr. L. humilis on the ground, low, fr. humus the earth, ground. See Homage, and cf. Chameleon, Humiliate.]

1. Near the ground; not high or lofty; not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming; as, a humble cottage. THy humble nest built on the ground. Cowley.

2. Thinking lowly of one's self; claiming little for one's self; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; thinking one's self ill-deserving or unworthy, when judged by the demands of God; lowly; waek; modest. God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Jas. iv. 6. She should be humble who would please. Prior. Without a humble imitation of the divine Author of our . . . religion we can never hope to be a happy nation. Washington. Humble plant (Bot.), a species of sensitive plant, of the genus Mimosa (M. sensitiva).

– To eat humble pie, to endure mortification; to submit or apologize abjectly; to yield passively to insult or humilitation; -- a phrase derived from a pie made of the entrails or humbles of a deer, which was formerly served to servants and retainers at a hunting feast. See Humbles. Halliwell. Thackeray.

Hum"ble, a.

Definition: Hornless. See Hummel. [Scot.]

Hum"ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Humbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Humbling.]

1. To bring low; to reduce the power, independence, or exaltation of; to lower; to abase; to humilate. Here, take this purse, thou whom the heaven's plagues Have humbled to all strokes. Shak. The genius which humbled six marshals of France. Macaulay.

2. To make humble or lowly in mind; to abase the pride or arrogance of; to reduce the self-sufficiently of; to make meek and submissive;

– often used rexlexively. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you. 1 Pet. v. 6.

Syn.

– To abase; lower; depress; humiliate; mortify; disgrace; degrade.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

6 January 2025

PREMATURELY

(adverb) (of childbirth) before the end of the normal period of gestation; “the child was born prematurely”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

coffee icon